Golden Sun: Alternate Reality
by TimeSage
Summary: *Chapter 2- Three Years Later...* A kind of narration of 'Golden Sun', except with changes made in the storyline. Thus giving it a more realistic feel. Plus, new plot twists and diologue. Er... I suck at summaries. Just read it.
1. The End or the Beginning?

ME: Yes, this is kind of like a narration of the video game. But there are many differences between this story and the video game. One of the bigger ones is found in the Isaac-Garet vs. Mystery Man-Mystery Woman (gee I wonder who *that* is) fight.

Also, there's no need to worry about this story being overly-sappy. I'm keeping the romance to a low-sap level.

Anyway, let's get this story started!!

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           \   \    ####     **Golden Sun**             \    \ 

            \   \     ####   **Alternate Reality **    /    / 

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Chapter 1: The End… or the Beginning

"This is it," said a mysterious young man. His hair and armor were a bright blue. His face was pale, but the color of his armor and hair gave it a soft blue glow.

"I can't believe we made it," replied a young lady standing next to him. They were standing in a room. In front of them was a wall. But if their info was right, then this wasn't just a wall. It was a locked portal to the Elemental Stars. Down below, a group of people working for them were currently activating the switch below them.

"In mere second, the power of Alchemy shall b…"

::BOOM::

"What was that?!" asked the young female.

"I don't know," replied the man. They could hear screams of agony from below. Suddenly, lightning filled the room. "We better get out of here now!"

"But what ab…"

"The Elemental Stars can wait for another day," the man replied urgently. The lady nodded, and the two quickly ran out of the room.

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Meanwhile, Dora was busily trying to wake up her son. Outside, a storm was brewing. Dora had already put on her coat and boots. The rain was pouring hard as the lighting and thunder roared. She was amazed her son could sleep though this. 

"Isaac, wake up!" Still no response. "Please dear, wake up! The Mt. Aleph Boulder is about to fall!"

Finally, Isaac began to stir, and then sat up on his bed.

"What… what did you say?" asked Isaac. It was very early in the morning, probably around 3:00, and he was still a little groggy.

"The Mt. Aleph boulder is falling son. Come on, we have to go, now!"

Isaac quickly registered what he was told. Once he realized what was happening, he quickly jumped out of bed. He was still in his sleeping clothes. He began to walk towards the stairs when his mother cried out.

"Isaac, wait! You forgot something!" Dora then held out her hands. "Catch!" Upon summoning the psynergy, a ghostly hand reached out, grab the tunic, and bring it back in a couple of seconds.

"It's pouring outside," Dora continued. "Don't leave without your tunic. Here, put it on," she said as she handed him the tunic. "I'll wait for you at the stairs." With that, Dora went around the corner to give Isaac some privacy.

Isaac quickly changed out of his sleeping clothes. He put on a white shirt, a pair of blue pants, and a matching blue tunic. As he began to put on his cloak, he looked out his window. The rain poured relentlessly, and the thunder literally shook the ground. The lightning lit up the sky with a blinding flash. It was unlike anything Isaac had seen before.

Finally, he secured his cloak and hurried over to a small chest near his bed. He opened it, revealing its contents. A small machete, which his father gave him, and a pair of gloves, which his mother made not too long ago. After pulling on his gloves and securing the small machete at his side, Isaac ran to the stairs. Dora was standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for him.

"Do you have everything you need?" she asked. Isaac nodded. "Good for you, Isaac. It's like your father and I always say: a lost possession can be replaced, a lost life can't," she said as the two walked down the stairs. When they reach the bottom, they wasted no time to walk towards the door. Suddenly, the door shot open, making both Isaac and Dora jump in surprise. Suddenly, Isaac's father, Kyle, stepped through the door. He was soaked head to toe.

"Isaac! Dora! Hurry, the boulder could fall at any second," he called before stepping outside again. Isaac and Dora wasted no time in hurrying after him. Suddenly, before they could leave, the candle on their table went out.

_'Could that be… an omen?' Dora wondered. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought. _'No, I hope not!'__

"Kyle… will they be able to stop the boulder?" Dora asked. Isaac and his two parents were currently standing outside their house, figuring out what to do.

"No, not for long anyway," Kyle replied with a grim face. He then turned to his family. "You two go and take refuge in the plaza."

"What about you?!" Dora asked, worry obviously in her voice. "Aren't you coming also?"

"No. I must help evacuate the other villagers too."

Dora thought about this for a second. Then she approached her husband. "Let me help you Kyle!"

"I can't let you. It's too dangerous Dora! Please take care of Isaac."

"Isaac is 14 years old. I think he's old enough to go to the plaza alone." Dora then turned to her son. "You'll be ok, right Isaac?"

"Of course mom," Isaac proclaimed, happy that his mom is letting him do things on his own finally.

"See Kyle, he can take care of himself," Dora said, looking over her shoulder at her husband.

"All right, you can come with me Dora. Be careful Isaac!" With that, the two adults left to the north.

Isaac watched as his parent left to help the people in the village. He then turned around and began walking towards the stairs in front of his house. Suddenly, he heard a rumbling behind him. He turned around to see a boulder bouncing strait towards him. Isaac barely had time to jump out of the way of the out of control boulder. Said boulder was now falling off the small cliff in front of the house, when it hit a couple of trees and came to an abrupt stop near the bottom of the stairs. The impact also caused the trees to fall in different directions. The end result was a jumbled mess of debris and rock down below, preventing anybody from walking down that path.

Isaac saw this mess and quietly cursed under his breath. He then decided to try to walk down the stairs next door. But upon inspection, he realized that the tree there had fallen, probably due to a gust of wind earlier. Accepting defeat, Isaac went the only direction he could go, north.

Isaac walked up the stairs behind his house. Upon passing the house up there, he noticed his best friend, Garet, pulling a rather large chest. Actually, he was TRYING to pull the chest, but it didn't seem to want to budge. Isaac walked over to his friend and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh… oh Isaac, it's you."

"Garet, not to sound rude, but what in Angara are you doing?!"

"What am I doing? I'm saving my stuff, that's what I'm doing!"

"Garet, that chest doesn't look like it'll move anytime soon. Also, the boulders are still falling. We have to get to the plaza now!"

After Isaac said this, Garet stopped pulling the chest.

"So you're saying I should dump all my stuff, forget these things, and save my own life?"

"No, I'm saying you should keep trying to pull this chest until a boulder crushes you," Isaac replied sarcastically. "Of course I'm telling you to save your own life!!!"

"Geez, you don't have to yell," Garet responded. "Hold on a sec." He then walked over to the chest, pulled out a small pocket knife (it has a cover so that it doesn't cut you when stored away), and cut away the ropes on top of the chest until he could open the lid. He then grabbed a key out of his pocket, unlocked the chest, and opened it. Inside, on the top, was Garet's machete and sheath. Garet's and Isaac's machetes were identical, except Isaac's handle was orange, while Garet's was red. After securing the sword and sheath at his side also, he began to walk south.

"Garet, wait!" Isaac called out. "We can't go south! That way is block off by boulders and debris! We need to cross the bridge and try to go around!"

Garet heard his friends call and turned around. He gave Isaac a nod of understanding, and followed him as he ran to the bridge. After carefully crossing the bridge, they began to walk down the path. Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently.

"An earthquake?!" Isaac wondered aloud.

"No, look. The Mt. Aleph boulder is falling!" Garet said, struggling to keep his balance as he pointed towards the mountain. Isaac looked too, and saw what Garet was pointing at. A giant bolder, larger than 3 men combined, was tumbling down the hill. Suddenly, it began to slow down, and then stop. At the base of the mountain, several citizens of Vale were using all their power to stop the giant boulder; but it was obvious that they couldn't hold it much longer.

"Isaac, come on. We've got to g-," Garet started, but stopped when he saw the path ahead of them. The earthquake caused by the boulder caused a lot of trees to fall, blocking the path. "Dammit! Why us?!"

"Garet, wait!" Isaac yelled, stopping his friend's outburst. He pointed at an opening in front of the debris. "We can probably go around those trees. Let's go!"

With that, the two friends ran to the opening. They continued down this path, thanking the fact that their cloaks were keeping them dry. More rocks and debris were scattered all around, but there was no problem going around the obstacles. Suddenly, they came to the bend in the road, and noticed a strange sight. A man laid on the ground, with a boulder stuck in the fence behind him. The two teens hurried to the man.

"What happened?" Garet asked.

"Ugh… rockslide… destroyed fence… monsters… everywhere," the man struggled to reply. "Boys… I'm hurt pretty badly. Do you think I'll die?"

"No," Isaac replied. It was true. The man didn't seem to be hurt at all.

"This is it. I'm left here… for the monsters to…" the man started, then suddenly stopped. He then surprised everybody by jumping onto his feet. "Hey… I'm ok. But I'm serious about the monsters. Be careful on your trip to the plaza." With that, the man left, leaving the two boys dumbstruck.

"Um… let's be careful," Garet said as he took out his machete. Isaac did the same, and the two continued their trek to the plaza. 

After rounding the corner, however, they heard some rustling in the nearby bushes.

"What was that?" asked Isaac, who gripped his blade tightly.

"I don't know," replied Garet, who also took a defensive position. Suddenly, a small, blue creature jumped out of the bushes. "It's just a vermin," stated Garet. "It shouldn't be too hard to defeat."

After Garet said that, said Vermin charged at them. The two young fighters easily dodged the attack. Garet then countered the attack with a slash, wounding the animal. The creature attacked Garet, and its staff-like weapon got him on the arm. Isaac meanwhile snuck up on the creature from behind, and with one thrust, knocked the creature unconscious with the blunt side of his blade, thus ending the battle.

"That wasn't too hard," said Garet. "Why did you only hit it?"

"What right do we have to kill it?" Isaac more stated than asked. He never understood why death was needed to win battles. "Are you ok?" he asked, noticing the cut on his friend's arm.

"Yea, it's just a scratch. Come on, we still have to get going."

And so the two boys continued on their way to the plaza. Unfortunately, the storm didn't seem to want to help them any. The winds got much stronger, and the rain poured harder than ever, soaking their hair and faces. But they didn't give up. They continued their trek through the muddy path until they reached a fork. They decided to take the shorter right path, and didn't have any trouble. That is, until the two paths merged again. Suddenly, a loud shriek seemed to block out the noise of the storm. They duo looked around for the source of the noise.

"Isaac, watch out!" Garet warned while pointing up. Isaac looked where his friend was pointing and saw that the source of the shrieking was a large bat diving right at him. Without a second thought, Isaac jumped into the air, and glared determinedly at the bat. His machete stated to glow, suddenly, as he slashed at the bat. His actions worked, as he managed to cut one of the bat's wings, sending it tumbling to the ground, where it laid unconscious.

"Nice move Isaac! How did you get your sword to glow like that?!"

"I don't know Garet," Isaac responded truthfully. "Come on, let's keep moving."

And so they did. Finally, they made it out of the forested area. They continued south, passing a lot of plants along the way. Suddenly, Isaac gave out a yelp of pain. His leg hurt, a lot. He realized that something was on it. He quickly began kicking his foot out, until something flew off.

"A mushroom?!" asked a very confused Isaac. Suddenly, it got back up. Also, another mushroom beside the first one came to life too.

"Not exactly," said Garet. "They're possessed by evil sprits."

"Well, since they're out of the ground, they're technically dead, right?"

Garet looked at his friend, who was grinning evilly. "I get what you saying."

"On the count of three: 1…2…3!"

By the time Isaac finished counting, the creature began to lunge at them. But before they could reach them, the two boys slashed them with their machetes, chopping each one in half.

"I never really liked mushrooms anyway," said Garet. This earned a chuckle out of his friend. Isaac and Garet then walked down the path, going down two sets of stairs. When they reached the bottom of the second set, however, they heard am ear-shattering scream.

"Oh no, my brother!"

Isaac and Garet immediately recognized the voice.

"JENNA!" they yelled together as they ran to the house of their other best friend. When they reached it, they both immediately stopped in shock. In the water was Jenna's older brother, Felix. He was holding on desperately to a pole stickling out of the water. Isaac and Garet both realized that the pole, among a few others sticking out of the water, were the remains of a bridge that once stood there. In this area, the opposite bank was cut into two sections by a number of trees and rocks. Thus, two bridges were built. One bridge led to the path to the north. The other bridge led to the path going south. Isaac, after seeing one bridge standing, realized that it was the northern bridge that was destroyed.

On the now broken porch of Jenna's house, were Kyle and Jenna's parents, all three trying to reach poor Felix. Jenna's dad, George, had a rope in his hand. Behind the three adults, were Dora and Jenna, both with worried expressions on their faces.

"Mom! Dad! Jenna!" Isaac called from beside the porch. Kyle was too busy to hear his son, but Dora and Jenna both heard him. However, before anybody could respond, they heard a loud crack. The four turned to the water and saw that the pole Felix was holding on to had broken, and that he was nowhere to be seen.

"NO! FELIX!" Jenna cried out. Everybody just stood there, stunned at what they just saw. But then, Isaac saw something out of the corner of his eyes. He turned and looked a little father downstream. He then saw something that surprised him: a pair of hands gripping one of the other posts.

"Everyone, look!" he called while pointing at the hands, which were moving upward. Suddenly, a head popped out of the water. It was Felix!

"Felix! Are you ok?!!" Kyle called.

"::cough:: Yes, sir," Felix called, trying not to suck up too much water.

"Kyle, I don't know if this rope will reach now," George said.

"… I have an idea. Do you have any Psynergy?"

"Nope, sorry, I used it all up deflecting boulders."

"Me too. Hmm… new plan. Isaac, Garet, Jenna. I want you three to go look for anybody with any Psynergy."

"I'll go too," said Dora.

"Ok dear, just be careful." responded Kyle. Dora nodded, and she and Jenna walked through the house and out the front door. "Meanwhile, let's continue trying with the rope," Kyle said to George and Melody, Jenna's mom.

"Ok, listen you three," Dora began to the young kids. "I'll look up north and see if there's anybody who can or needs help. You three go to the plaza and try and find something there. Immediately come back if you do."

"Got it, ma'am," Jenna replied. The group then separated. The 3 friends walked down to cross the southern bridge. They climbed the stairs and began walking across. About halfway across, Jenna stopped and looked towards her brother.

"Hold on, Felix. We'll be back with help before you know it!" she called. Felix gave them a small nod of understanding as he continued to struggle against the waves.

"Let's go Jenna. We have to hurry," said Isaac as he pulled Jenna away from the scene. The group then walked across the bridge. However, when they reached to other side, a Vermin jumped out of nowhere and nailed Garet in the gut. Isaac was about to help his injured friend when…

"AIIIEEEE!!!" Jenna screamed. Isaac turned around to see her swatting at another bat with a stick she picked up. Luckily, she managed to hit the creature, stunning it enough so that Isaac could knock it into a nearby tree. The creature slit down the tree and stopped moving. Jenna breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Isaac."

"No problem," he replied. They turned to Garet, to see that he had defeated the Vermin and was now kicking it into the bushes like a ball.

"Well, that's the end of that. We're almost there. Let's get going," Garet said. Not much later, the trio entered the main plaza. After walking down a few flights of stairs, they reached the bottom, where they could see a lot of the villagers resting.

"Ok, let's split up. If you find somebody who can help us, find the others," Isaac explained. He was kind of the unofficial leader of the group.

"Got it," Garet and Jenna replied. The three then went separate ways. Isaac walked around for a couple of minutes, asking any adult he saw if they could help. Unfortunately, they were all either: too old, too young, too tired, or too injured to help. Suddenly, he spotted Garet.

"Hey Garet, did you find anybody?"

"Nope. You?"

"I didn't find anyone either. Hey, where's Jenna?" Isaac asked. The three began looking around for the violet-haired girl. "Wait, I see her. She's near the Psynergy stone with her dad," Isaac said. He and Garet began to run to their friend.

"Oh, Isaac, Garet, I was about to look for you two," said Jenna, who heard the two running through all the mud.

"Did you find somebody?" asked Garet.

"Yep," she replied. She then pointed to a guy standing next to the Psynergy stone. Isaac and Garet could feel his psynergy rising.

"Mr. Lonston here agreed to help Felix," explained Garet's grandfather.

"Great, I'm all ready," the guy said. He then turned around and got off the Psynergy stone.

"Are you ready to save Felix?" asked Garet's grandfather

"Yes. Thanks to the Psynergy Stone, I have enough strength to save Felix."

"Ok then, your four better get moving then," said Garet's grandpa, as he turned around to talk to a couple of other men who wanted to help the elders. Isaac and the gang wasted no time in getting back to the bridge. Once they reached the middle of it, they turned to see if they were too late. Thankfully, they saw that Felix was still holding on, and that Isaac's mom was back safe and sound.

"Mom, Dad, everybody! We're back!" announced Jenna. Once again the adults saving Felix were too busy to hear, but Dora heard and walked to the bridge.

"Kids, did you find anybody?" she asked from below. That's when Mr. Lonston stepped forward.

"I can help Felix," he said.

"Good, you're just in time. Hurry, though, Felix may not last much longer." Dora then turned and walked over to the other parents to tell them help arrived. The other 4 walked across the bridge and back down to ground level. Once they were near Felix, Mr. Lonston stepped to the edge of the shore. However, before he could use his Psynergy, the ground began to shake hard again. Isaac immediately knew what was going on.

"T... The boulder! It's coming!!!" Isaac yelled. The group began to scramble.

"We have to get off!" yelled Kyle.

"What about Felix?! He may n…" Melody started.

"There's no time. We have to go now!"

Too late. Suddenly, the ground stopped shaking. Isaac looked up, and what happened next seemed like slow motion. The boulder appeared over the cliff and began to fall. The adults could only watch as the boulder hit the water near the dock, sending a giant tidal wave over the planks of wood. Before Isaac could see the fate of the adults, the wave reached him, and sent him flying back it the cliff. The impact knocked him unconscious.

~*~*~

"Isaac! Wake up Isaac!" a voice yelled. Isaac slowly opened his eyes. His head hurt immensely, as with the rest of his body. Standing in front of him were Jenna and Garet, both with dismal expressions on their faces.

"What happened?" Isaac managed to ask. Garet looked down. Jenna could barely speak, and it was obvious she was on the verge of tears.

"T- They're gone," she said.

"Who's gone?" Isaac asked. Jenna tried to respond, but failed and ended up bursting into tears. Garet began to try and comfort her, and began to tell Isaac the news.

"Jenna's parents died when that boulder hit the water. You're dad… died with them."

Isaac looked up at his friend his friend with disbelieving eyes. He immediately forgot of the pain as he shot to his feet and past his friends. He ran to the shore and saw what his feared most. The dock that previously held his dad and Jenna's parents was gone. Felix was also nowhere in sight.

_'No… it can't be…' thought Isaac as tears began welling in his eyes. _'I've got to get help!'_ With that, Isaac took off for the bridge._

"Isaac, wait!" Garet called out to his friend. Isaac couldn't hear him though. The storm blocked out Garet's voice. "Jenna, stay here with Isaac's mother, ok. I've got to go help him." Jenna nodded. She knew Dora, who was kneeling nearby crying, was doing as bad as she was. She also leaving Isaac alone at this time probably wasn't wise either.

"You should hurry Garet," Jenna advised. Garet nodded back, and then took off after his friend.

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Isaac ran as fast as he could as his legs could carry him. His mind was clouded with despair. Suddenly, as if on instinct, he stopped. Then he heard voices, two of them. They were talking to each other. The storm, however, prevented him from hearing some of the conversation.

"Only the two of us survived…" a male voice said.

"…how could…anticipated Sol Sanctum…unleash such fury…" a female voice said.

"…it's a miracle…us were spared..."

"…switch must…a trap..."

"But… think…it could conjure… storm this powerful…!"

"…another demonstration….power…alchemy at work…"

"Regardless…not fail…next time…challenge Sol Sanctum…"

"…we shall certainly-"

"Isaac!" Garet's voice suddenly ripped through the storm. Isaac turned around and saw his best friend running towards him. Isaac signaled for his friend to quiet down. Garet stopped next to his friend. "Isaac, what are you do-" Garet started, and then suddenly stopped. All he did was look up and ahead of them. Isaac turned back around to see what he was looking at, and froze.

On the cliff a little ahead of them, were two rather scary looking people. They looked a few years older than them. One was a young man who seemed to glow with an evil blue aura. The other was a blond woman who glowed with an evil red aura.

"You! You were eavesdropping on us, weren't you?!" the man said, pointing to the two boys. Isaac shook his head. The man scoffed. He then turned to his partner and they began whispering to each other.

"Isaac, I have a bad feeling about this," said Garet. Before Isaac could reply, the two mystery people turned to them.

"You must forget everything you heard here," the girl said.

"Wha-" the boys began.

"No need to worry; WE'LL HELP YOU FORGET!" the man yelled. Before either boy knew what was going on the two jumped off of the cliff and in front of them.

Isaac suddenly acted on instinct and jumped at the woman. His sword glowed again as he hit hear with all his strength. To his surprised, the girl only flinched slightly as a little blood began to leak from her cheek.

"Not bad, kid. You actually caused me some pain. Now it's my turn!" she said as she swung at Isaac, knocking him back next to Garet.

"Isaac, you ok?!" Garet yelled, not taking his eyes off the two in front of them.

"Yea," Isaac said as he got back on his feet.

"Heat Flash!"

"Garet look out!" Isaac warned. It was too late. The mystery man's blade, surrounded by fire, came down and struck Garet. The boy was sent flying into the cliff and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"One hit? Too easy," the man said.

"You bastard!!" Isaac yelled. His body began to glow orange, and his sword glowed a bright yellow. Suddenly, Isaac did something he's never done before, summon Psynergy!

"What's going on?"

"Quake!" Isaac yelled as he stuck his sword struck the ground. Suddenly, the ground began to crumble and head straight for the man, who was too shocked to react. The fissure reached him, and an explosion rocked the ground. The man was sent flying back in pain."

"So that's the way you want to fight? Then take this!" the woman yelled. "Mad Blast!" Suddenly, the ground in front of Isaac exploded in a fiery blast. He screamed as he was sent flying into the cliff also, and fell unconscious next to Garet.

"Should I finish them off, Saturos?" asked the girl, who already had her scythe held out, ready to summon the final blow.

"No, Merandi, we should leave. More people are approaching. Our work is done for today." Merandi withdrew her scythe, and gave a nod of understanding. With that, the two figures disappeared into the forest.

~*~*~

"They went this way ma'am. I'm sure of it," Jenna said as she led Dora and Mr. Lonston across the bridge. She knew something was wrong with Isaac and Garet. She could feel it. Finally, they reached the forested area. They suddenly froze when the saw the two boys lying on the wet ground. "ISAAC! GARET!" Jenna yelled as she ran to her friends, the two adults close behind.

"…They're ok, just knocked out," Mr. Lonston said after checking up on the boys. "Let's take them to the sanctum, though; just to be safe."

With that, he picked up Garet's body and began walking back, Jenna following him. As Dora picked up her son, she looked up at the sky. The storm was quickly dissipating. As she was waking back across the bridge, she suddenly remembered something from earlier that day.

_'That candle. It was a sign. But is this the end…' she wondered as she watched the sunrise over the east. __'…or is it just the beginning?'_

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ME: Well, how is it so far. Please review!


	2. Three Years Later

**Golden Sun: Alternate Reality**

Chapter 2: Three Years Later

Jenna, now 17 yrs. old, hummed to herself as she walked up the familiar path to her friends' houses. Her violet hair had grown to about halfway down her back. Like most days, her hair was in a ponytail. She also matured quite nicely, making her quite the eye-candy for some of the male population of Vale (mostly the perverts). However, her fiery temper helped keep them at bay.

She was also one of the only female Mars adepts in Vale. Most women train as Venus adepts, mostly for the healing spells for their family after they got married and had children. Jenna, however, wanted to be strong and make her family proud of her. Fire adepts usually learn to become quite powerful, so she chose to be one.

It was a beautiful summer day. A perfect day for the trip up Mt. Aleph they had planned with their tutor: Kraden. The trio had been looking forward to this hike for weeks. They got permission from the elders of the village to go through a certain route that led away from Sol Sanctum, which had been off limits to almost everybody since the incident 3 years ago.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she reached Isaac's house. She noticed Dora standing outside the house, looking up at the roof.

"Hello ma'am," Jenna said to Dora.

"Hello Jenna. How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing well. Is Isaac ready to go?"

"Huh? Oh, he's currently fixing up the roof. Some of it got blown away in that strong windstorm last night. Speaking of which…how's it going Isaac?!" Dora called up to her son.

"Great! I should be done soon!" Isaac called back.

"Well, in that case, I'll get Garet and come back," Jenna told Dora. She then began walking father north. A light breeze blew as she climbed the stairs in front of Garet's house. She figured that he was still getting ready, as he usually was late anyway. Because of this, she decided to stop near the front of the house.

_'I wonder when that big oaf will finally remember stuff,' Jenna thought to herself. Her answer soon came._

"Flare!" a voice yelled. Suddenly, before Jenna could react, a stream of heat wised past her, causing her to fall to the ground in shock. Once she regained her senses, she heard a familiar laugh.

"Garet…" she sneered at her friend, who was standing next to her.

Garet has changed a lot during the last few years. He hair was taller and his muscles grew somewhat. He was without a doubt stronger than his two best friends, but one thing he never was good at was speed, which gave Isaac and Jenna an advantage of their own whenever one of them had a duel with him.

"Sorry Jenna. But you should know to never leave your guard down," teased Garet as he helped his friend to his feet.

"Oh, haha," replied Jenna sarcastically. "Well, since when are you ready on time?"

"Come on, I'm not always late!"

"Whatever," Jenna said with a grin. She loved messing with him like this. Deep down, she liked Garet a little more than she would admit. It wasn't that she was scared to tell him, she just felt like things were perfect as they were now.

"Anyways, where's Isaac? Isn't he normally with you by this time?" asked Garet.                                                        

"He's fixing the roof to his house, so I came to get you first."

"Oh," said Garet. He didn't really feel right talking with Jenna today. Today was the three year anniversary of the death of her family and Isaac's dad, and he knew that she didn't like talking about it. He liked her, a lot. And he hated seeing her sad. So he always tried to avoid the subject.

"Garet, what happened… to you two?"

"What?"

"Three years ago…what happened to you and Isaac?"

Garet, to say the least, was shocked by this question. Jenna always tried to avoid these memories.

"…I'm still not sure. I remember you telling me to go help Isaac. I can't remember what happened after that until I woke up inside the sanctum. …However I've been having weird dreams lately."

"Really, what happens in the dreams?"

Garet sighed. "I'm not sure. All I remember is that I see Isaac next to me. Suddenly, a couple of evil-looking people jumped in front of us. One strange thing is that they seemed to glow red and blue. Suddenly, one attacked Isaac, and while I checked to make sure he was ok, the other attacked me with a weird fire technique. Right before he hits me, though, I wake up. But that dream seems so familiar, almost like it happened before. And I always have it on the anniversaries of that one day…" Garet trailed off after that as he closed his eyes. A cold feeling ran down his spine as he recalled the dream. Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms wrapping around him.

"Thank you Garet, for telling me," said Jenna as she tightened the embrace a little. Garet blushed a little as he returned the hug. Actually, he didn't want this to end. However…

"Ahem." Upon hearing that, Jenna and Garet jumped apart, both blushing slightly as they glared at the last member of their group. "If you guys are too busy having one of your special moments, I can just come back with Kraden in about an hour."

"Isaac, shut it," sneered both of them.

Isaac wasn't much different since the accident. His spiky hair was a little longer. Also, he was taller, though not as tall as Garet. What made him different from his friends was that he was training to be a Venus adept, unlike his friends, who were both training to be Mars adepts.

Not many men in Vale trained as Venus adepts, because they preferred the strength given to those who train the way fire adepts do. Some of the only people beside Isaac and the healers in the sanctum who trained under the power of earth included Kyle, Isaac's deceased dad, and Felix, Jenna's deceased older brother. Isaac had looked up to both while growing up. Felix was like an older brother to him, and explained why he decided to train as a Venus adept when Isaac was younger.

_"Mars adepts usually rely only on their strength, while Venus adepts must learn how to rely on their wisdom and on strategy. They must learn to help those in need, and never kill unless necessary. They are well rounded out in fighting skill, leaving them with no real advantage, but also no real disadvantages. In other words, Venus adepts must learn to train both their mind, as well as their body, to their full potential, and must keep a strong sense of honor of all time."_

Those were the words that changed Isaac's view of the world. It was because of that speech that he is the type of warrior that he is now…

"I can't believe u left your staff at the inn," groaned Garet. A little after Isaac started teasing then, Jenna decided to shut him up 'her way'. However, upon reaching for her staff, she realized it was gone. That's when she remembered that she left it in the inn while helping the owners clean the other day.

"Stop complaining. It'll just take a second," Jenna said as she entered the inn. After getting permission from the lady behind the counter, she went upstairs to look. Once upstairs, she began to look inside the different rooms, making sure to knock first. After a couple of minutes of searching, she still hadn't found it. Now, she stood in front of the door to the last room she hadn't checked yet. "Well, it must be in here," she said to nobody in particular as she reached out to knock the door.

She suddenly stopped. The air grew silent. There was something wrong about this room. Her hand just remained there, as if it had been frozen. Finally, she regained her senses and knocked on the door.

No response.

"Hello?" she asked while knocking again.

"The door is unlocked," a male voice said. The voice sounded muted, yet strangely a little familiar. Jenna pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she entered the room.

It was a room for one person, and was rather neat and tidy. Whoever stayed here was really organized. The only current occupant was a figure staring out the window. Obviously, it was the man who spoke earlier. She couldn't see much about him, though, as he had his back to the room. All she could see was the green tunic he had on and his shoulder-length brown hair, which was tied in a small ponytail.

"You must be here for the staff. It's standing by the door," said the man, taking a second to look at her while he spoke before turning back to the window. His face was covered by a strange mask.

"But how di-…you…er, thanks?" Jenna barely muttered out, surprised at the man's words.

"You're friends are waiting for you, you better go," the man spoke again, this time without turning.

Jenna, now even more startled by this man, couldn't even reply. All she could do was nod, and leave; making sure she closed the door behind her.

_'Jenna…' the man thought to himself as he glanced at the closed door before turning back to the window._

"Hey Jenna, there you are! We were beginning to think about leaving you behind," said Garet as he and Isaac got up from their sitting positions on the ground.

"Whatever," muttered Jenna, who began walking back North.

"Whoa, is something wrong?" asked Isaac, who was startled by Jenna's sudden mellow attitude.

"Well, there was some guy in there who was rather creepy. He knew about my staff and you guys."

"Do we know him?" asked Garet.

"I can't say for sure. He was wearing a mask."

"Did he threaten you or anything?" asked Isaac.

"No. I somehow feel he isn't dangerous."

"Not dangerous? Don't you think 'creepy' and 'not dangerous' contradict each other?" asked Garet.

"…Garet, you actually used several words more than 6 letters long! In the same sentence too!" joked Isaac, who couldn't pass a chance to embarrass his friend. Garet gave him a death glare. Jenna just chuckled. "Besides, they kind of don't. Remember that 'creepy' cave?"

"Oh yeah. The one in the woods that Garet said was all spooky and haunted, but was actually pretty peaceful," replied Jenna. "In fact, I remember we used to hang out there a lot."

"It has been a while though, hasn't it?" Garet pointed out.

"Yea, it has," replied Jenna.

"I know, lets have a picnic there tomorrow, just for old time's sake," suggested Isaac.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Sure," said Garet and Jenna (respectfully). Jenna, however, still was a little curious about that man.

"Are you ok?" asked Garet, noticing the worried look on her face. "Thinking about that guy again?"

"Yes."

"Oh well, don't worry too much about it. We always have weird visitors here in Vale," said Garet. "I'm sure it was nothing."

"But something about him I still don't understand. He seemed so… familiar. Like somebody I knew."

"I'm sure it's nothing. Besides, we're almost at Kraden's house," stated Isaac. He was right. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't realize how fast the trip took. They were already at the fork near his house. After rounding the giant rock and following the dirt path, they arrived at the stairs to Kraden's home. However, they heard a couple of voices from above.

"Well, Saturos, that could've gone better," said a female voice.

"True, but I don't think we are at all finished yet," the man, now identified as Saturos, answered. "Did you see the gleam in his eyes when we talked about the true power of Sol Sanctum? I think we can still use him."

"But do you think he'll really try something?" the woman asked. Saturos didn't answer. There was silence for a couple of seconds. Suddenly, two figures jumped off the ledge, scaring the 3 teens half to death.

"Who are you?" the woman asked in a threatening tone. "You were eavesdropping on our conversation, weren't you?!"

"Menardi, quiet," said Saturos. Menardi immediately backed off. Saturos then turned to the trio in front of him. "You three are here to see Kraden, aren't you?"

The three kids were still in shocked by their sudden appearance. Jenna found her voice back first.

"Yes, we're here to see Kraden. We have training today."

"In that case, we shouldn't keep you here. He's been expecting you for a while now. Come, Merandi. Let's not delay these children any longer." With that, Saturos turned around and began down the path. Menardi gave the three kids one last glare, then followed Saturos.

"Well, that was weird," said Isaac as he began walking up the stairs.

"No kidding. Those guys were spooky though, right Garet?" Jenna said, but got no response. "Garet?" she asked again, turning to him.

Garet's face showed great terror. He looked like he was cursed.

"That….that was…them…" he stammered.

"What do you mean?"

"Those two people. They were the same ones from my dreams."

Jenna felt her heart stop for a second as she processed what she just heard. They were the same duo that attacked Isaac and Garet in his dreams? Could they have something to do with…?

"Guys, where are you?" Isaac yelled from atop the stairs.

"Coming!" yelled Jenna. "Let's go Garet. We can't be late to Kraden," she said. Garet, who was knocked out of his trance thanks to Isaac's yell, nodded. They finished the trip and climbed the stairs to his house, where they immediately saw Kraden pacing back and forth in front of his house.

_'Just who were they?' thought Kraden. _'They know too much about Sol Sanctum, even more than the elders. And what was it that they said about the elemental stars? The elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water…they plan to set them in motion, and the stars are the key? I wonder what they meant by that? I wonder what secrets lay in S…'__

"Kraden?" asked Isaac, who knocked the sage out of his trance.

"Oh, kids. You're here."

"Are you ok Kraden?" asked Jenna. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Er…well…"

"Was it those two people? What were their names again?" asked Garet.

"You mean Saturos and Menardi?" asked Kraden. The kids nodded. "Actually, yes, it's them. Well, not exactly them, but what they said."

"What did they say? Do they want something from you?" asked Jenna.

"It seems that way."

"Huh, what do you mean?" asked Isaac.

"It was strange. They talked to me about Sol Sanctum, but they acted as if they seen it with their own eyes."

"How? Even before the accident, Mt. Aleph was restricted unless you had permission from Garet's grandfather," Isaac pointed out.

"I bet you they snuck in!" announced Garet.

"But if that's the case, they might be… thieves!" Jenna realized.

"And they're probably here to steal something important from Sol Sanctum," said Isaac.

"We have to warn the villagers!" The trio turned around as they prepared to run to the village.

"WAIT!" yelled Kraden. The kids stopped in the process of taking their first step. They turned back around to face the old sage.

"What's wrong Kraden?" asked Isaac.

"Er…" began Kraden. _'Oh, no! I better think of something fast!'_

 "We can't tell anybody because… we need to investigate first! Yeah, that's it!"

"What do you mean?" asked Jenna.

"We don't have proof that they actually entered. For all we know, everything I heard could've been a big lie."

"I guess you have a point," said Isaac. "We can't go to the elders without accurate proof."

"So, what should we do?" asked Jenna.

"…We investigate, of course."

"WHAT!" the three adepts yelled simultaneously.

"But we can't go up to Sol Sanctum! We'll be in big trouble if we are caught," warned Garet.

"Then lets not be caught," said Kraden. "Listen kids, I know climbing up that part of Mt. Aleph is forbidden, but this is really important, don't you think?"

The three friends got into a sort of huddle.

"I guess its ok. Besides, it's not like we'll be doing anything bad up there."

"True. We still should be careful though."

"Then it's decided. Let's keep this our little secret." With that, the trio nodded and turned to Kraden.

"Kraden," Isaac began, "…we'll go with you."

"Terrific! Stay here," said Kraden as he ran inside his house. As they waited, Jenna and Garet began talking while Isaac sat on the ground.

Suddenly, he felt a presence around them. He couldn't describe it, but it was there. A dark shiver went down Isaac's spine as he looked around. There was nothing there. The only sound was that of the trees rustling and the conversation his friends were having.

"All right kids, let's go!"

Isaac was knocked out of his trance at Kraden's announcement. He turned to the sage, who was now wearing a coat and had a bag slung over his shoulder.

"What's in the bag, Kraden?" asked Jenna.

"Just some healing herbs and supplies. Be prepared early, a lesson you should never forget," said Kraden. The adepts nodded in understanding. "So, are we ready to go?"

The three friends nodded.

"All right then, let's go." With that, Kraden, Jenna, and Garet began walking towards the stairs. Isaac stayed back and looked around. Whatever that weird presence was, it was gone now.

"Oh, Isaac," he heard Kraden say. He ran to the group, who were all waiting for him at the top of a stairs.

"Yeah?"

"I almost forgot. I'm putting you in charge of this expedition."

"WHAT?!!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rantings (4/22/03)

Well, that was a pain to write. It took a lot longer than I thought it would. It wasn't serious like my other stories, and I felt that it was really lame overall. I just couldn't get the atmosphere I wanted. -_-;

I honestly almost took a break until I began reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. That guy is a genius! His story helped give new ideas on how to improve this chapter. I really think they helped.

Honestly, I was planning to continue the chapter farther, but I felt like this was a good place to end. ^^;

~TimeSage


End file.
